Safety stop and mounting



April 24, 1945. E RLAND 2,374,326

SAFETY STOP AND MOUNTING Filed Sept. 22, 1944 2 //v VENTOR ELI BOUELA NDFma zw ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 24, 1945 Eli Bourland, Milbrae Highlands, calm, assignorto Pacific Can Company, San Francisco, Calif,, a corporation of NevadaApplication September 22, 1944, Serial No. 555,243 1 I 8 Claims. (Cl.198-232) My invention relates to improvements in continuous cookers andcoolers and particularly to means for detecting the jamming ordeformation of cans while therein.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one form of yieldablesupport means and actuating connections.

Fig. 4 is a view in cross-section of the control unit when adapted forelectric operation; and

55 imes several Fig. 5 is a similar view when adapted for air or vacuumoperation.

In a pressure cooker or cooler, to both of which devices my invention isapplicable, it is A present day continuous cooker r cooler in--necessary to provide a star wheel l0 or equivalent cludes a cylindricalhousing 20 to 30 feet long means for lifting the can bodies I I out ofthe with a reel inside for impelling the cans from mpe in reel l2 andinto t e ansfer Valve one end to the other. Its capacity is aboutpockets IS. in which the cansare passed into the 2,450 cans. If anythinghappens that a deformed cooler from the-cooker or from the cooler to canshould jam when bein lifted out of the the exhaust discharge chute. Thestar wheel cooker or cooler at the end of its travel, it is 10 has theprongs M which project up intothe important to be able to have themachine stop spaces between the angle irons IE on the imautomaticallyand immediately upon this jampelling reel i2. Engagement of these teethI4 ming being detected so that additional good cans in between the angleirons l5 rotates star wheel will not be ruined by jamming against thestalled i0 so that its cam-like actionin lifting cans ll injured can.Not only is damage thus caused to out of the impelling reel 12- iscarried out. other cans, but it is not uncommon that the If, during itspassage through the cooker, a jammed cans will cause a breakage of theend can H has swollen, burst; or become mashed section of the impellingreel so that it must be so that it is not of normal dimensions or shapereplaced before the device can begin operating, it will not readily moveout of its pocket be- This is a major operation and requires removaltween adjacent angle irons l5 in spite of the lift of the whole end ofthe cooker housing and impart d t it by p s I 4 on s w l meansinterruption of the-cookingof some 2450 Under normal operation the cansII may be cans which in most cases will have their coneasily and readilylifted from the impelling reel tents spoiled. into the transfer valvepockets l3.

One of the objects of my invention is to pro-- My invention involves theprovision of a, yieldvide a safety means for detecting a misshapened,able mounting for the star wheel I0 50 that in- J'ammed or crushed canand for stopping the stead of breaking off its mounting bracket 20 orwhole machine before the can has had an opallowing the jammed can toinjure the end of the portunity to cause any damage. impelling reel |2,the star wheel lll will back away Another object of my invention is toprovide from the impelling reel l2 and the jammed can;

a simple form of such an automatic stop mechand as it backs awayit willshut off whatever anism whereby the circuit for the shutdown of p w r ma s is ing used to rotate the impellin the machine may be placed on theoutside of the reel and the machine will come to a halt.- This housingand still be actuated from the inside. halting of the machine is soefiective'that usually Other objects and advantages of my invention noother cans are injured than the one which will become apparent to thoseskilled in this a sed t e machine to shut dOWn. art from the followingdescription of one em- The defective can H may then be readilyrebodimenttaken in connection with the drawing m v d through manhole'cover l6.This removal and filed herein pursuant to requirements of 0 operationusually does not takeover fifteen min- U. S. Revised Statutes, sec.4888. It is underutes and the shortinterruption'tothe cooking stood thatin making this description I do not operation has n t pr v n to b nenough to intend to limit my invention to the form of any cause anyinjury to the ediblematerial in the of the specific structure used fordescribing this cans As soon as the'star wheel 10 detects theembodiment. presence ofa jammed-can the machine stops In th drawing,automatically, then the operator turns off the Fig. 1 is an endelevational view partly in Steam cooking pressure and hoods the cookercross-section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2; with water whilereleasing the pressure. Then Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional Viewtaken the manhole cover i6 is removed as soon as the on the line Iii-IIf-Fig, 1, and pressure is reduced and the'damaged can is lifted out. Thewater is then pumped out of the cooking chamber and is replaced by steamcooking pressure. With 'theprior art machines the operation has usuallyrequiredinany hours, somedays. to" secure Yand replace the this case astructure engages its end broken parts.

adapted to engage a correspondingly fiat face 22 on the cooker housing01' ing. When these faces are the star wheel tion. The faces are held inthis normal position by means of a long stud is threaded at 24 into thecooker r valve housing. The stud has a shoulder or collar 25 to receivea washer 26 which holds a spring 21- and washer 28 against the underface 29 of bracket 20. The hole 3|] in bracket 20 is elongated orrelieved at 3! to perthe transfer valve housin close engagement 'mit thebracket 20 to pivot around its base corner 32 when a can causes the starwheel l0 and bracket 20 to be deflected. Such deflection causes thecorner 33 of face 2| to move into the dotted line position shown in Fig.3. By means of this mounting it is seen that by regulating the strengthof spring 21 it is possible to have star wheel yl'll carryout its normalfunction of lifting cans out of the impelling reel l2 and also to havestar wheel l0 deflectably mounted when the pressure of any -prongy|4against a-jammed can will overcome spring 21 and cause bracket 20 todefleet. When deflected from its normal position it sets inmotionmeansforshutting off the source of power which isdriving impelling wheel l2.

In the drawing 1 have shown one form which this. control shut-off meansmay take. For example, in the enlarged drawingof Fig. 3, the device isshown as actuating a control means 4t. This control means ay be anelectric circuit breaker as shown iii Fig. 4 where the contact member 60is 'normally held across the terminals 8|, 62 by spring to close themotor control circuit relay. Whenever actuating pin 4| is moved enough,to lift the contactmember 6|! away from the terminals 6|, 6-2 the motorcontrol relay 'will allow the motor circuit to open-and thewhole-machine will shut down. The control means may be through a vacuumor air valve, depending upon the designers choice. In likeFig, 5. wouldsufiice. Here the piston Ill and springv 14 keeps the port 1| sealed soas to allow pressure to be maintained on the switch control line 12.When the pin 4| is-mqved enough to move the piston I0 beyond the edgeofthe port 1|, thepressure in line 12 will escape through will shut downIn either event there is the actuating pin 4| adapted to be engaged byan actuatingrod 43 which projects through the end late 44 of thepressure cooker or cooler and has a suitable packing gland 45 to preventloss of pressure within the chamber. A spring 46 holds rod 43 in itsretracted position. Rod 43 is actuated to shut valve 40 by apivoted'lever which atfi'l. .An adjustable screw 5| is securedin-pivoted lever 50' and is held in correct' adjustment by set screw 52. Adjusting screw 5| bears against the deflectable star wheelsupporting bracket so that any movement-of this ke i i mesli tel pmmm ae r u lever 5|) and rod 43 to the shut-off valve or switch actuating pin4|. Lever 50 pivots on shaft 53 I0 is in its normal operating posi- -etis adjacent said the port 13 and the machine electrical motor or eachpocket from its the combination of a bracket mounted in clamped in caps54 on the ends of studs 23. It will thus be seen that star wheeldeflectable bracket 20 moves relatively to studs 23 and that thisrelative movement is imparted through screw 5| to lever thence to rod 43and actuating pin 4|.

Whenever star wheel l0 meets more than the predetermined resistance inlifting a. can out of any pocket in the imlpelling reel l2, the starwheel will be deflected downwardly and its stub "shaft ll will causecorresponding deflection of mounting bracket 20 and the valve or switch40 will be actuated and the drive means, whether an Y any other sourceof power, will be shutdown immediately. Instead of the form of levermechanism and rods for actuating the control switch 40 other forms willoccur to those skilled in the art. As shown, the control switch 4'0 isplaced outside the chamber. This is not essential, as it may be placedwithin the chamber and if it is an electrical control switch it willthen require insulation against the moisture in the chamber, as well asprotection against corrosion of the contact points. For these reasons,and because of the easy accessibility of having the control switch onthe outside, I prefer this arrangement but I do not intend to limitmyself to this embodiment. These changes may be made within the spiritof my invention, the principles of which are set forth in thisdescription and summarized in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a closed container of the type adapted to discharge cylindricalobjects through an opening therein, the combination of carrier meanshaving peripheral pockets for impelling said objects therein, aregulating wheel mounted adjacent said opening-havingmeans which movesinto bottom outwardly when said pocket is adjacent saidopening,resilient mounting means for. said wheel whereby it will not be forcedinto any pocketfrom which it does not readily move said cylindricalobject, and means actuated by the corresponding induced movement of saidmounting means when said Wheel does not clear out said pocket to haltsaid im'pelling means.

2. In an apparatus for transferring cylindrical objects through anopening, the combination of a chamber, carrier'me'an's having peripheralpockets for impelling 's'alid objects therethrough, power' actuatedmeans for moving said impelling means, a'regulating wheel mountedadjacentsaid opening andh'aving means which moves into each pocket fromit's bott'om'oiit'wardly when saidp'ockopening, a bracket and stub shaftfor mounting said wheel inside the outer periphery of said carriermeans, means for yieldably supporting said bracket and wheel 'in normaloperating position in said chamber whereby it will not be forced intoany pocket from which it does 'not readily move said cylindrical objectbut will insteadeifect a movement ofsaid bracket, and means operated bymovement of said bracket to stop said impelling means when said bracketis deflected from its normal position by said regulating wheel.

3. In a chamber for treating filled containers having means forimpelling them therethr'ough, said chamber adjacent an opening therein,a stubshaft carried thereby, a regulating wheel. rotatably mountedthereon, studs-secured to the inside face of said chamber, guide slotsinthe base of said bracket embracing said studs 'to allow it to tilt inrelation to said face and said studs, a lever pivoted in fixed relationto said face and movable when engaged by said bracket as it tilts inrelation to said face, an actuating rod passing through the wall of saidchamber, and

a control means on the outside of said chamber ing said bracket in saidchamber in normal operating position, actuating means movably secured insaid chamber and engageable by said bracket, and switch means to openthe motor circuit on the impelling means when said ejection member isdeflected out of its normal operating position by said transfer memberand moves said actuating means.

5. In a transfer apparatus of the class described, the combination of achamber having an outlet, a carrier therein having peripheral pockets,electrically actuated means for rotating said carrier therein, a startransfer wheel journaled on a shaft in said chamber inside the peripheryof said carrier so as to engage the underside of objects in saidimpeller to move them out of said pockets through said opening, adeflectable bracket in said chamber supporting said shaft, means foryield ably supporting said bracket in said chamber in normal operatingposition so that if said object resists removal from its pocket throughsaid opening then the star wheel will deflect, actuating means movablysecured in said chamber and engageable by said bracket, and switch meansto open the motor circuit on the impelling means when said bracket isdeflected out of its normal operating position by said star transferwheel and moves said actuating means.

6. In a transfer apparatus of the class described, the combination of achamber, electrically actuated means for impelling objects therethrough,a star transfer wheel journaled on a shaft in said chamber to engageobjects in said impeller, a deflectable bracket supporting said shaft,studs secured to the inside of said chamber, said bracket fitting saidstuds with a clearance fit to allow tilting of the bracket in relationto the studs, yieldable means holding said bracket in normal operatingposition, actuating means movably secured in said chamber and engageableby said bracket, and switch means to open the motor circuit on theimpelling means when said bracket is deflected out of its normaloperating position by said star transfer moves said actuating means.

'7. In a transfer apparatus of the class described, the combination of achamber, electrically actuated means for impelling objects therethrough,a star transfer wheel journaled on a shaft in said chamber to engageobjects in said impeller, a deflectable bracket supporting said shaft,studs secured to the inside of said chamber, said bracket fitting saidstuds with a clearance fit to allow tilting of the bracket in relationto the studs, yieldable means holding said bracket in normal operatingposition, a fixed bracket secured to said studs, having an actuatinlever journaled therein and engageable by said tiltable bracket, andcircuit control means to open the motor circuit on the impelling meanswhen the tilting bracket is tilted out of its normal operating positionby said transfer member and moves said actuating lever.

8. In a chamber for treating filled containers having means forimpelling them therethrough, the combination of a bracket mounted insaid chamber adjacent an opening therein, a stubshaft carried thereby, aregulating wheel rotatably mounted thereon, studs secured to the insideface of said chamber, guide slots in the base of said bracket embracingsaid studs to allow it to tilt in relation to said face and said studs,a, lever pivoted in fixed relation to said face and movable when engagedby said bracket as it tilts in relation to said face, and a controlmeans engaged by the tilting of said bracket for stopping said impellingmeans when said lever is moved by the tilting of said bracket.

ELIBOURLAND.

Wheel and v

